$100,000 cash bail for accused accessory in Rutland woman's death

WORCESTER — A city man charged as an accessory in the slaying of a Rutland woman was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail at his arraignment Thursday in Worcester Superior Court.

Angel E. Santiago, 21, of 7A Clarkson St., was indicted in April on a charge of being an accessory, after the fact, to murder in the killing of 53-year-old Diane Lamarche-Leader, whose body was discovered after authorities responded to a Dec. 6 fire in her home at 2 Joanna Drive in Rutland.

Amador Roman, a 35-year-old homeless man, has been charged with murder in Ms. Lamarche-Leader's death.

The results of an autopsy to determine the cause of her death are still pending, according to Paul R. Jarvey, a spokesman for District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. Mr. Jarvey said the cause and origin of the Dec. 6 fire remain under investigation.

Mr. Santiago pleaded not guilty Thursday to the accessory charge, as well as to related charges of perjury, misleading police, larceny of a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property. Judge James R. Lemire set $100,000 cash bail without prejudice, which will allow Mr. Santiago's lawyer, E. Peter Parker, to seek a bail reduction at a later date.

Prosecutors said earlier that Ms. Lamarche-Leader was a nurse who assisted people with substance abuse problems and that Mr. Roman, who remains in custody without bail, had been staying with her in the Rutland home.

Prosecutors described Mr. Santiago as "a person of interest" in the Rutland homicide after he was arrested in March on charges of stealing an SUV belonging to Ms. Lamarche-Leader, misleading state police investigators and receiving property allegedly stolen from the Rutland home.

The perjury charge against him relates to his Dec. 12 testimony before a grand jury.

Mr. Santiago's bloody sneaker print was found in a bedroom of the home where Ms. Lamarche-Leader was believed to have been killed, prosecutors have said.

Under questioning by investigators, Mr. Santiago initially denied any knowledge of Ms. Lamarche-Leader's death, but later admitted being at the scene of the slaying, according to prosecutors. He denied ever having entered the room where the killing is believed to have occurred.

Investigators said Mr. Santiago eventually related to them that he and another individual left the victim's house in her SUV after she was killed. The vehicle, which police said contained cellphones and a GPS unit belonging to Ms. Lamarche-Leader, was later found abandoned in Worcester, authorities said.

Mr. Santiago allegedly told investigators flat-screen TVs were also taken from the home. Those items were not recovered.

Mr. Santiago's case was continued to July 17. Mr. Roman is due back in court June 18.

Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey T. Travers is prosecuting both cases.